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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by Goldman Sachs

By ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman) and ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


WELL, THIS IS STRANGE ... MATT APUZZO and MIKE SCHMIDT broke the news that Clinton and Bush veteran, Emmett T. Flood of Williams and Connolly, is replacing TY COBB on the president's legal team.

-- NYT: "In a phone interview, Mr. Cobb said he informed the president weeks ago that he wanted to retire. He said he planned to stay at the White House, likely through the end of the month, to help Mr. Flood transition into the new job.

"'It has been an honor to serve the country in this capacity at the White House,' he said. 'I wish everybody well moving forward.'

"Mr. Flood is expected to take a more adversarial approach to the investigation than Mr. Cobb, who had pushed Mr. Trump to strike a cooperative tone. Mr. Flood initially spoke with the White House last summer about working for the president, but the talks ultimately fell apart because Mr. Flood did not want to deal with Mr. Trump's longtime New York lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, who was overseeing the president's dealings with the special counsel at the time." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2ecaa135e55ed051b4425c8c6e674c822f957d63cf46cc3fba395e1fb161bc4eb7dfa8686dbe8be1ad

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY SARAH SANDERS: "For several weeks Ty Cobb has been discussing his retirement and last week he let Chief of Staff Kelly know he would retire at the end of this month."

BUT ... ABC just posted an interview with Cobb where he discusses legal strategy! ... ABC'S JONATHAN KARL, RICK KLEIN and KATHERINE FAULDERS: "White House lawyer Ty Cobb told ABC News during an exclusive interview on Wednesday that a presidential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller has not been ruled out.

"It's certainly not off the table and people are working hard to make decisions and work towards an interview," Cobb told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and Political Director Rick Klein on ABC's 'Powerhouse Politics' podcast. 'And assuming that can be concluded favorably, there'll be an interview,' he said. 'Assuming it can't be ... assuming an agreement can't be reached, you know then it'll go a different route.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2e0e50d8a728a2a2be504eda25be0ed0c92733f596ae80d7e07a721d7735e8b2d9746219cb89d6e169

SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: "UPDATE: Military plane crashes at Ga. 21, Crossgate Road in Savannah": "A C-130 aircraft from the Air National Guard 165th Airlift Wing has crashed near Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. CEMA says the crash occurred at the intersection of Ga. 21 and Crossgate Road in Savannah. The crash happened about 11:30 a.m." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2e04874255d46a482b6a76b9307e2006ca6e668b19e3ed65aa0194deaccbbf10e545e04cbc046c607f

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS ... STEVE SCALISE: He raised money for Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis in Springfield yesterday (http://bit.ly/2rfMzQ1) ... He's going to Virginia for Reps. Dave Brat (R-Va.) and Scott Taylor (R-Va.). Brat invite http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2ebddbea9ad3a42162fb7ac7f1a15ccd8e6c2a5b56d3c115d560167c4b976809bec49eb1099e547e18

-- DAVE WASSERMAN: "House: Democrats Risk Disaster in California's Top Two Primaries" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2e2c75e53d5d30bf3bb307ed2b469dcdb6fddb3f3264c9e1795905ba5bbf37cc36bd17dcc95cd0ec49

Good Wednesday afternoon. TRUMP'S MESSAGE TO JUSTICE AND THE FBI ... @realDonaldTrump at 10:45 a.m.: "A Rigged System - They don't want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal 'justice?' At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!"

-- THIS IS SOMETHING MARK MEADOWS has been banging the drum on for a bit. It's important, because it could reach a boiling point and force leadership into an uncomfortable spot.

WHOA ... "Ukraine, Seeking U.S. Missiles, Halted Cooperation With Mueller Investigation," by NYT's Andrew Kramer in Kiev, Ukraine: "[In Ukraine,] four meandering cases that involve [Paul] Manafort, Mr. Trump's former campaign chairman, have been effectively frozen by Ukraine's chief prosecutor. The cases are just too sensitive for a government deeply reliant on United States financial and military aid, and keenly aware of Mr. Trump's distaste for the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into possible collusion between Russia and his campaign, some lawmakers say.

"The decision to halt the investigations by an anticorruption prosecutor was handed down at a delicate moment for Ukraine, as the Trump administration was finalizing plans to sell the country sophisticated anti-tank missiles, called Javelins. ...

"Volodymyr Ariev, a member of Parliament who is an ally of President Petro O. Poroshenko, readily acknowledged that the intention in Kiev was to put investigations into Mr. Manafort's activities 'in the long-term box.' 'In every possible way, we will avoid irritating the top American officials,' Mr. Ariev said in an interview. 'We shouldn't spoil relations with the administration.' ...

"The new government established a special prosecutor to pursue corruption in the former administration. By late last year, the prosecutor, Serhiy Horbatyuk, had opened about 3,000 cases, including four related to Mr. Manafort's consulting for the former president and his political party. ...

"Two months before Ukraine's government froze the cases, Mr. Horbatyuk reached out to Mr. Mueller's office with a formal offer to cooperate by sharing evidence and leads. Mr. Horbatyuk said that he sent a letter in January and did not receive a reply, but that the offer was now moot, since he has lost the authority to investigate. ... In another move seeming to hinder Mr. Mueller's investigation, Ukrainian law enforcement allowed a potential witness to possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to leave for Russia, putting him out of reach for questioning." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2eb48dfa2d4114b02fe0948acc44a9ba66124eed4d12b5bc8924aff3ee468c2f98f590bbd35bfe5eaa

****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: Small businesses are the cornerstones of communities across America. To date, more than 6,700 entrepreneurs have graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. This National Small Business Week, learn how each participant receives a practical business education, opportunities to access capital, and more. ******

MORE OF TRUMP TO JUSTICE -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:45 a.m.: "There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap). What there is is Negotiations going on with North Korea over Nuclear War, Negotiations going on with China over Trade Deficits, Negotiations on NAFTA, and much more. Witch Hunt!" ...

... at 9:23 a.m.: "'The questions are an intrusion into the President's Article 2 powers under the Constitution to fire any Executive Branch Employee...what the President was thinking is an outrageous.....as to the President's unfettered power to fire anyone...' Joe Digenova, former US Attorney" ... at 9:33 a.m.: "NEW BOOK - A MUST READ! 'The Russia Hoax - The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump' by the brilliant Fox News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett. A sad chapter for law enforcement. A rigged system!"

WEDNESDAY LISTEN -- ANNA talks with DANIELLE WEISBERG and CARLY ZAKIN, co-founders of theSkimm about how they're overcoming the "stigma" that news has on the latest Women Rule podcast. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2ee6b7c11dac69d4dfb66cf5f347981c0b13be933de827b4b74e3d04838dacd105a4a08c5bd1a575b1

THE NEW ORDER IN FOGGY BOTTOM -- "Trump touts renewed 'spirit' at State Dept. under Pompeo," by Cristiano Lima: "President Donald Trump hailed newly-minted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a 'true American hero' while alluding to a boost of energy at the State Department during a ceremony marking the agency leader's swearing in on Wednesday.

"In his first remarks at the State Department since becoming president, Trump praised Pompeo's 'exceptional leadership' at the Central Intelligence Agency, which he headed before being named to replace former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The president also appeared to reference the waning morale under Tillerson, who aggressively pushed to shrink the State Department and some of its diplomatic functions.

"'I must say that's more spirit than I've heard from the State Department in a long time, many years,' the president said while speaking alongside Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials. 'We can say many years and maybe many decades. It's going to be a fantastic start, a fantastic day. That spirit will only be magnified.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2eaafb3b7982560730ea666421c3da1f4b30838d8afc6b69ab4dc06be95fcb96498d9fd92b8b9c7456

REALLY CONFUSING ... STEVEN SHEPARD: "Pennsylvania House specials to be held in November": "Special elections to replace former Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) and outgoing Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) won't be held until November, concurrent with the general election, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced this morning. ...

"The replacement of Pennsylvania's congressional map earlier this year complicates the process. The special elections will be held under the old lines, at the same time as 2018 general elections are held under the new lines. Most of the Meehan seat (PA-07) is in the new PA-05, and most of the Dent seat (PA-15) is in the new PA-07. Both districts became more Democratic in the court-implemented redistricting.

"Primary voters will pick nominees for the general election in primaries held under the new lines later this month. Local party committees will select the nominees for the special elections, which would give them the option to pick the primary winners to represent them in both races on the November ballot." For Pros only http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2e4ca7fd9174d718a1b4b3e78030b5c42e937ffb79cdd759a76f268f6be9c57b945db487b0018bb41a

VALLEY TALK -- "Facebook Has Begun To Rank News Organizations By Trust, Zuckerberg Says," by BuzzFeed's Ben Smith and Mat Honan: "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the company has already begun to implement a system that ranks news organizations based on trustworthiness, and promotes or suppresses its content based on that metric.

"Zuckerberg said the company has gathered data on how consumers perceive news brands by asking them to identify whether they have heard of various publications and if they trust them. ... Zuckerberg met with a group of news media executives at the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel in Menlo Park after delivering his keynote speech at Facebook's annual F8 developer conference Tuesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2ea57e407bdf65653e0af8cfd5dd8aafb690ec61faddb7e547455fedec0ff06963a771a39287862d81

SPOTTED: Calista and Newt Gingrich wondering the streets of Pienza, Italy, which is a few hours away from the Vatican.

TRANSITIONS -- Trippi and Associates is becoming Trippi, Norton, Rossmeissl Campaigns, with the addition of Julie Norton and the promotion of Tom Rossmeissl as new firm partners. Norton joins the firm after 15 years at SKDKnickerbocker, most recently as a managing director. ... Evan Hollander starts on Monday as the communications director for the Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. His last day as comms director for Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) is today.

BONUS BIRTHDAY ... JEFF BUTLER is 3-0, chief of staff in Rep. Patrick McHenry's (R-N.C.) personal office (h/t Parker)

BONUS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Steve Elmendorf, partner and co-founder of Subject Matter. How he got his start in politics: "I had two internships in high school and college working for Gina Glantz, one of my generation's great Democratic field organizers. After college I was underemployed waiting tables at a mall restaurant in suburban New Jersey, and Gina came in for lunch and asked me why I was waiting tables and said I should come work for her as a field organizer on the Mondale for President campaign.

"I quit my job and moved to Jacksonville, Fla., to work on the Florida straw poll and then 10 other states before the campaign ended. I recently went to Mondale's 90th birthday party and seeing the talent who worked on that campaign reminded me that presidential campaigns win or lose are great preparation for a life in politics and government." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bff0dab636774b2e385cd640ec8a35e4162e4b2cc0457df3e96959878af890f46933255427e62430456ee66ea3c7040a

****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: 87.6% of 10,000 Small Businesses graduates do business together. The curriculum is centered on peer-to-peer learning, where participants bring business opportunities and challenges into the classroom and immediately apply what is learned to their businesses. Relationships established during the program continue to benefit participants well after graduating. This National Small Business Week, learn how our 10,000 Small Businesses graduates #MakeSmallBig year-round. ******

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